So everyone knows Taylor Swift is one of the most popular musicians of all time, but how does she stack up to giants of the past like Michael Jackson and The Beatles? No matter how many reports of new chart records, we can’t shake the feeling that someone like MJ just had a larger cultural impact worldwide. This week, we crunch the numbers to see the true size of the Swiftdom we live in.

Our guest this week is Chris Dalla Riva, author of Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves.

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Hey, folks. This week, NO SUCH THING is hosting Origin Stories, a new podcast from Campside Media. Each week, veteran journalist Matthew Shaer talks to a different writer or director about the creation of a work close to their own hearts, and this episode is the perfect example. Palestinian filmmaker Yousef Srouji is the creator of the critically-acclaimed documentary "Three Promises," which uses his mother’s old home video footage to tell an intimate story of life during the Second Intifada. Srouji talks to Matthew about coming to documentary film as a newbie and learning the tools of the trade on the job. He also discusses the difficulty of finding distribution for “Three Promises,” despite the project being largely apolitical. Listen to Origin Stories.

NO SUCH THING will be back next week!

Don't forget to cast your votes for the Signal Awards. We've been nominated for: Best Buddy Podcast and Activism, Public Service, & Social Impact for our episode about Online Pedophile Hunters.

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This week, we’re asking: what do you do when your favorite artist becomes a self-proclaimed N*zi? And we dive into the new documentary In Whose Name?, which claims to show Kanye in a new light.

Don't forget to cast your votes for the Signal Awards. We've been nominated for: Best Buddy Podcast and Activism, Public Service, & Social Impact for our episode about Online Pedophile Hunters.

Follow us on Instagram and sign up for our newsletter at nosuchthing.show.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why does it seem so common that modern sculptures of iconic figures look so bad? Soccer star Ronaldo, NBA legend Dwyane Wade, and even the great Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. have been frankly disgraced by sub-par and strange renditions. Is creating a great statue a lost art, or are we being unfair? This week, we talk to a real sculptor to find out.

Our guest this week is John Belardo.

To follow along with the sculptures in the episode, check out our newsletter or Instagram.

Some exciting news, we’ve been nominated for two (2) Signal Awards: Best Buddy Podcast and Activism, Public Service, & Social Impact for our episode about Online Pedophile Hunters. If you’re feeling generous, head over to those links and vote for us :))

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

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What is therapy exactly, and what is it supposed to do? How do you know if you need therapy? If you’re in therapy, how do you know if it’s working? NO SUCH THING talks to Lilly Kaplan, therapist and author of the Reality Test newsletter, who gracefully demystifies the practice of therapy for us and answers a barrage of questions.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286‬

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Why do some people seem to suffer the ills of foodborne illness at an alarming frequency, while others cruise through rare steaks unimpeded? In this episode, we bravely (or foolishly) ask: does food poisoning actually exist? This week, we talk to food safety experts to find out what food poisoning actually is, where it comes from, and what you can do to avoid it. Also discussed: Did your family have a dedicated bowl to vomit in? Will leftover rice kill you? And do you have to wash your chicken?

Our guests this week are Dr. Ben Chapman, Extension Food Safety Specialist at North Carolina State University, and food safety lawyer Bill Marler.

Check out Ben’s podcast Food Safety Talk.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286‬

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This week, we’re turning our attention to our weather apps. Are they getting worse? Are Trump’s DOGE cuts to blame? Why don’t we use feels like as the default temp? And what does the percentage of precipitation (PoP) actually mean?

Then, we answer a listener's question on how Spotify’s shuffle feature actually works.

Check out Heather McCalden’s “The Observable Universe.”

The last track in this week’s episode is from Certain Self’s “Girl in the Walls” from his new EP You Look Tired.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286‬

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This week we settle your dumb arguments. Yup, it’s mailbag time. We’ll argue about the RIGHT way to load a dishwasher, revisit a right-wing conspiracy theory about cat litter in schools, solve an intersection conundrum involving a funeral procession and a school bus, and finally reveal how this beautiful friendship actually began.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286‬

For more, subscribe to our newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show and follow us on Instagram.

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